Power outage made for better understanding of plight of others

Dec. 29, 2009

Written by

Frank Chapman, Asheville

WLOS (Channel 13) recently ran a story on the morning program concerning some improvements to public housing planned by the Housing Authority. Included in the story was an interview with an elderly woman who had to push blankets under her door to stop the cold wind. The interview was personable, but the show quickly moved on and frankly, it didn't resonate much with me.

Then it began to snow. Although blessed to make it home, electrical power was soon lost, and my family began a long weekend experiencing conditions similar to those experienced by many of our neighbors every day. The interview returned to me, and this time it did resonate. What many of us experienced during the Snow of 2009, the inconvenience and the miserable cold, is experienced every day by the homeless and those in need around our area.

While I want to express by deep thanks for the men and women who worked through the cold and terrible conditions to restore power to my home, I would hope that all of us who experienced a long weekend in the cold will remember those who suffer through those conditions every night in the Asheville region.